Erin's Threat Got Our Attention

South Florida's Hurricane Dress Rehearsal Will Serve Us Well For The Real Show

August 13, 1995|By JOHN MAINES and Staff Writer

Oh, sure, there were the doubters. Those who thought a hurricane would never hit.

Fortunately for them, they were right. On Aug. 1, Hurricane Erin buzzed to the north, leaving unscathed South Floridians with bottled water, bottled water everywhere.

City officials say all that preparation was just what they had hoped for. In south Broward County, they say, preparation for the hurricane went fine, as both residents and city crews braced for the worst.

"I think a lot more people paid attention this time," Hollywood city spokeswoman Christine Murray-Thrower said. "There were a lot more boarded up windows. I think [Hurricane) Andrew put a lot of fear into people.

"There will always be a certain level of complacency. There are people who weren't here for Andrew; this is a transient population," Murray-Thrower said.

Hollywood City Manager Sam Finz praised city workers for staying on the job much of Aug. 1 to coordinate a smooth-running emergency preparedness plan.

"We did not take the easy way out," he said.

A few glitches surfaced, however. Communication between Broward County officials and some cities was a problem, with conference calls getting fouled up, Murray-Thrower said .

Adding double shifts of police and firefighters cost Hollywood at least $100,000. The money will come from a $1 million emergency fund bankrolled by post-Hurricane Andrew federal dollars, Murray-Thrower said.

In Dania, acting City Manager Michael Smith said there were no preparation snags.

"We were prepared, we were ready," said Smith, who said the city put shutters on some park buildings and City Hall.

Pembroke Pines Mayor Alex Fekete said memories of Hurricane Andrew, which devastated south Dade County in August 1992, left the city better prepared.

"No question about it. Everybody learned their lessons from Andrew," Fekete said. "This was a great dress rehearsal for our emergency managment personnel."

He said the city had a complete emergency plan prepared in advance and relied on it. The plan included keeping equipment, such as generators, in working order. During Andrew the city learned its command post didn't have shutters on the windows. The windows were shuttered this time.